Customary Protocol
by HunnybadgerV
Summary: So, I was thinking about something else then remembered Garrus' endearing uncertainty in that first moment back on the Normandy, in the battery, in ME3. Knowing Ventarix Shepard's forthrightness, I wondered quite how she might respond to his hesitance and uncertainty about the precise protocol of the situation. *Fluff & Smut warning*


**A/N**: So, I was thinking about something then remembered Garrus' endearing uncertainty in that first moment in the battery in ME3. Knowing Ventarix Shepard's forthrightness, I wondered quite how she might respond to his hesitance and uncertainty about the precise protocol of the situation.

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**Customary Protocols**

"I wasn't sure about the protocol," Garrus said with a trace of uncertainly as his eyes searched hers.

Venatrix smirked when she looked up at him through thick lashes and laced her voice with a smokiness that spoke volumes. "There really isn't a protocol. Just the question of what you want," she stated with a familiar warmth in her voice. Hope made her anxious and she tried to control her body's response to his uncharacteristic display of nervousness, as she snaked her hand along his armor. "If all those things you whispered that night before we docked at the Citadel still hold true, you could probably bypass the questions about protocol and skip straight to locking the battery door."

The movement of his left hand was swift and fluid. Three taps on the console were followed by the chirp that signaled the hatch was sealed, which was followed a shimmering sound that made her laugh. She didn't know if he or the Alliance had set up the surveillance blocking technology, but in that moment a part of her was glad for it. The intensity in his eyes hadn't dulled in the nine months they'd been separated, and it stole her breath as he cradled her head in both his hands and pressed his forehead to hers.

"I've missed you, Vex."

The little quake that shook his body floored her. He seemed to be as anxious as her. When his mouth pressed to hers, his tongue teasing at her lips before slipping between them, Venatrix Shepard allowed herself to melt into his embrace. She'd missed this feeling-his arms around her, him in her arms. She wanted more. She wanted to feel everything he'd given to her that night before the relay.

With greed and impatience her hands moved across the metal-plated ceramic that encased him. "Why in the hell are you wearing armor on the ship?" she growled as his mouth moved down her neck, nipping and licking at the thin flesh.

His chuckle reverberated in his chest. "Always prepared for anything," he replied before kissing her again.

Garrus held her so tightly and kissed her with such intensity that it made her head spin. The distraction was made all the more extreme by the subtle pressure of his thigh between hers. Haphazardly, she grasped at clasps and fittings in an attempt to shed some of his armor, but in this pursuit he had the upper hand. Her dress jacket found its way to the floor in minutes, followed quickly by his gauntlets. His rough bare hands slid beneath her t-shirt, his talons carefully scratching a trail along her ribs before lifting it over her head.

"Well, that's new," he purred in that heady voice that made the fire in her belly blaze with every syllable. His thumbs swept over the red lace of the bra as he cupped her breasts.

Venatrix bit her bottom lip and looked up at him with a little shrug. "I had something planned before Hackett called."

She knew he understood she was referring to their almost last night together before she turned herself over to the Alliance. Her undisclosed plans for one last romantic rendezvous with her turian vigilante had been overridden by a request that culminated in her being branded her a terrorist and extending their separation. She had abandoned her plans for a cozy little dinner to answer the Alliance's request, Hackett's request. Even to this very moment she regretted not taking those last few hours for Garrus, or herself.

"Ah," the turian replied, his hands still teasing through the thin fabric and lace. "Kind of not liking the admiral as much right now," Garrus admitted as he bent to her shoulder again, while his hands moved to her hips. His talons skimmed down the tops of her thighs, then slowly he dragged them up her inner thighs. He lightly scratched against the thick fabric of her slacks, which prompted a little sighing moan to escape her lips.

Her hips moved against him, as his hands stroked her hips and legs. Several more passes and his hands veered off course. One hand squeezed her hip, calming the motion her body made against his, and the other slipped between her legs continuing the same motion-a slow rub, a light scratch-until she growled at him. The sound made his mandibles flutter when he glanced up at her. Then he pressed his forehead to hers as his talons met at her waist and made quick work of her belt and zipper.

Shepard kicked off her shoes as he pushed the wool slacks over her hips. The growl was back. "Yes, I am now certain that Hackett is securely on my list," he noted, as one hand squeezed her hip firmly. The other continued its soft little strokes against her, and she guided his mouth to hers. The gentleness he exhibited seemed to be only partially prompted by the delicacy of the fabric.

Garrus seemed to be pushing himself as much as he was pushing her, or so she fully realized when he wrapped and arm around her waist and lifted her off her feet. She had only managed to get the clasps off his pauldrons, and a fact that seemed less amusing to him as well, now. He set her down at the main console and popped the clasps that kept his upper body encased.

Her hands roamed the edge of his cowl as his hands skimmed low on her waist. Vex placed warm kisses on his chest, then the prominent ridge ringing his shoulders before moving to his neck. The purring sound that reverberated in his throat spurring her on. Her hands moved up his neck and she pulled his forehead to hers. At that point she ghosted her fingertips across his fringe, which caused the purr to turn to a wanton growl.

Garrus' response was lightning fast. His talons skimmed lightly over the curve of her rear as he guided the crimson lace and silk down her thighs. She couldn't help but giggle as he lifted her onto the console with a nip to her shoulder. Pressing his forehead to hers again, his hands trailed down her side, dragging his talons lightly against her bare flesh until she tilted her head and pressed her mouth to his hotly.

When his mouth left hers, Venatrix let her head fall back and savored the gentle sharp touches that traced over her skin paired with careful and precise bites. The suddenness of it surprised her. She hadn't expected to feel his breath on her thighs. When she looked down at him in surprise, there was a calculating look in his eyes that made her smile.

The sensation of his tongue on her caused her to tighten her grip on the console. Words escaped her as Garrus continued his unexpected display. The texture of her tongue, which she savored when he kissed her, was pleasingly rough against her sensitive tender flesh. The sharp flicks and the long deliberate movements of his more lavish motions made her writhe in reply. As he drew deep warm sighs and moans from Shepard her hand played along his fringe. One leg wrapped around his body, her heel pressing into his back lightly as his machinations pushed her over the precipice.

Her stutters of, "Va … Va …," rolled into a deep reverberating moan as her body arched powerfully before the shuddering overcame her.

Garrus refused to let up until he was certain he'd strummed every note of pleasure from her. When she chuckled lightly, wriggling playfully in response to his attentions he relinquished one last flick of his tongue as her hands cupped his face.

"Where the hell did you learn that?" she asked as he nipped his way back up her body.

"I had a surprising amount of time for research while you were in custody back on Earth," he revealed, glancing up at her.

Venatrix laughed and continued to stroke his fringe. He assumed it was because she knew what it did to him. Her soft hands, fingers gliding back and forth over it ethereally; the soft circles she would make against his forehead with her thumb-it all sparked his flame. Truthfully, it was her that kindled the blaze in his heart, as well as his groin. But she had quickly picked up on the things that stoked his fire to an all but uncontrollable blaze.

Garrus brushed a talon lightly over one hardened nipple as he inspected the decorative undergarment. He didn't care for the feel of the lace, but it was enticing to look at. The deep red stood out against her bronze skin. The glimpses of tempting flesh peeked out from beneath the pattern of it. Though one advantage he had noticed was the response the fabric seemed to bring forth from Vex.

Teasingly he placed his mouth over the lace and bit her firmly. Her moaning gasp made his ache intensify. Initially, he had feared biting her, but after an unintentional instinctual reaction in the heat of the moment, they had learned she enjoyed it immensely. So he had stopped holding back, though he still remained extremely cautious with his talons.

Her fingertips grazed the sensitive spot at the back of his head, just beneath his fringe. Judging from her breathing and the look in her eyes, when he pressed his forehead to hers, the action was entirely calculated. Her hands and her mouth moved over the sensitive flesh between the plates as Garrus rushed to push off the rest of his armor.

It became quickly apparent that he wasn't the only one who had done their homework. Her eyes met his with an intensity that locked him in her stare. He could feel her hands on his body, moving in a precise and determined fashion, and he knew instinctively what she was doing, though he was surprised she knew how to prompt the reaction. Turian women knew, of course, but he hadn't expected Shepard to have learned that little cultural secret, at least not yet. His body replied to the magic in her fingers, the plates shifted, releasing him.

The hissing gasp escaped his mouth as he thrust into her touch. His forehead met hers as he gripped her thighs tightly. With a quick downward glance he watched one hand touch herself, then felt it slick down the length of him, prompting another rumbling groan.

"I thought that might surprise you," Venatrix whispered in a husky voice. Her smile was sly and almost predatory as she maneuvered him.

The heat of her was almost searing. And a sharp need overtook him. With a humming groan he pushed into her completely. Shepard grabbed his shoulders, greedily pulling him toward her as she moaned. Cradling his head to the curve of her shoulder she kissed his face, occasionally sighing in his ear. It was a sound he savored as their bodies moved together.

The two of them clung to each other in an intimate reunion, each reestablishing their connection to the other. Garrus respected her, more than that, he was certain that at her side was precisely where he needed and wanted to be. The last several months had been too long without her, utterly barren of that sultry gaze and the smile that could ignite a moon.

As her body reacted to his, he felt that pleasurable pressure rising from deep within him. His forehead met hers, while her fingertips stroked just beneath his fringe.

"Vakarian," she sighed, as he felt her body tense in his embrace.

His orgasm spilled into hers. He held her tightly as her body quaked in his arms, her legs still hooked around his slim waist.

"I love you," he declared, looking into her eyes. He knew it was the way humans described his desire, his willingness to bind himself to her.

Venatrix cupped his face and kissed his mouth, her thumbs stroking his mandibles lightly. As her eyes searched his. "I trust you, Vakarian," Shepard said after a long moment of consideration.

His mandibles fluttered at the sentiment. Suddenly he remembered something she'd told him after Horizon, after the confrontation with Ashley. You may not always trust someone you love. But you can love someone you trust. For Shepard, trust was paramount. And in that admission, he felt secure.


End file.
